Cable confusion?

My favorite cheap cables is the IXOS 6003. List is $2.50 a foot, but www.AC4L.com (Accessories for less) sells it for $1.49 per foot with free shipping. I have compared it with the Home Depot/Lowes 12 gauge and it is a big improvement. More glare in the treble with the 12 gauge.

Bereft of a technical background, I had to listen to, first, the experts, and ultimately, my ears. The experts said use heavy wire, so I wound up with biwired Kimber 8TC between my CJ Premier l2s and ProAc Response 3s. Then I tried superthin Mapleshade Double Golden Helix just for the heck of it (and because of the moneyback guarantee) and was dumbfounded. Now everything in the system is wired with Mapleshade, OmegaMikro and magnet wire and it sounds simply glorious. Nice bonus: I sold all my "garden hoses" for more than the new stuff cost!

Thank everyone, I'll look into all the different recommended wire sites and see if I can't reach that audio nirvana (at least as close as I can get with my present system) that we're all after.

In general, the appropriate gauge for speaker cables is 12ga +/- 2-3gauges (about 10ga. through 14ga.)

This has been borne out by some "objective" tests that have been published in JAES and elsewhere. BUT...

But, that doesn't tell the whole story by any means.

Two cables that are identical in effective (electrical size) gauge may result in completely different sound. A cable made like a capacitor will have different sound than one made like a big coil (inductor).

The problem with really big (low gauge) wires is that they start to get self inductive and roll off the top end... while the problem with thin wires is that they tend to not be able to deliver peak currents.

Still, it is interesting to try some rather thin pure silver wires on your bi-amped tweeters and see how that sounds.
:- )

So, the 12ga turns out to be a good middle of the road compromise.

So, gauge is only the simplest criterion for speaker cables.

In abstract theory, the idea cable would be "none at all" - the output devices being part of the voice coil of the speakers, so no distance at all. The idea for the practical audio person is to use a speaker cable that comes as close as is possible to having no cable at all.

In reality, most cables are designed to, or by definition (do anyhow), in some way interact with the amp and the load to cause some change in sound. Thus, the hunt for a "good sounding cable."

What I call the "geometry" of the cable plays a big role in the gross L & C of the finished cable - and is a big reason that people hear a difference between "regular" and "shotgunned" speaker cables. The geometry being everything between the two conductors and how the conductors are physically related to each other.

One problem can occur like this: you might have actually tried a cable that is essentially "not there" and not liked it at all! It may have revealed another defect in the signal path. So often folks use cables to attempt to do what I call "complementary coloration" in an effort to get what we call "good sound." The problem with this quest is that it is rare or impossible to in effect filter something twice and restore the original (which is the ultimate goal for high end).

Anyhow, the gauge thing is only a minor consideration in the resulting sound that you're likely to hear.

Of course, you mileage may vary, as may your perceptions and ears...

_-_-bear

Everything stated above is great advice but let me add my two cents. I have yet to try out the very expensive cables out there such as kimber 8tc and son on. I was in your exact situation. When I started the sytem I was using monster xp. Then I changed to Geneva cable. After that I changed to original monster, and now I'm running some Z1 monster. Now, each change in cable was not neceserily an improvement. It was just a different type of sound for each. Listen to as many brands as possible and your ears will tell you what you like. You may like the big gauge stuff or may not. Its all about what you like and what you like and what you are willing to pay for it. If you like the monster xp then I recommend you try out some of there Z1 series. I found some here for a good price used.